Adoption Information

Thank you for considering welcoming a LHK9 dog into your home!

If you are interested in adopting, the first step is submitting an adoption application. We HIGHLY recommend getting fully approved to adopt before looking at specific dogs since many tend to get adopted quickly, especially puppies and small dogs.

Our goal is to make sure we find the perfect match for you, your family, and each of our dogs. To help with this process, we carefully screen all of our potential adopters to ensure we are placing our dogs into the right homes.

Applying does not mean you are required to adopt, it just lets us know you that are seriously considering adopting a dog. Please only fill out an application if you are serious about adopting! Our team of volunteers spend hours processing an average of 140+ applications each week.

Remember, many of our dogs receive multiple applications and interest from already approved adopters, so we are not able to guarantee a dog’s availability until your application is fully approved. We work through applications in the order they are received until we find the right fit.

Application & Adoption Process Overview

Please note that LHK9 is only licensed to adopt to residents of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Application Process

Once you submit your adoption application, our volunteers begin to process your application in two parts: Reference Checks and Home Visit.

These are completed by two separate volunteer teams, so it is likely that you will hear from a few people throughout the approval process.

When submitting your application, please ensure that the information you are giving is as complete and accurate as possible. This allows our volunteers to process your application efficiently and avoid delays with follow-up.

Please let all references know that we will be calling and/or emailing them (sometimes our emails go to spam).

REFERENCES

HOME VISIT

Once we have all the information we need to begin the reference check, your information will be sent to our Home Visit team so they can assign a volunteer in your area to come complete the home visit. The application approval process takes approximately two weeks from start to finish.

Adoption Process

Once your application is fully approved, you will be connected with our Adoptions Coordinators. As an approved adopter, you are able to email the Adoptions Coordinators at adoptions@lasthopek9.org any time you see a dog(s) you are interested in meeting.

If you are first in line and a good fit for a particular dog, the adoptions team will send a contract to put you in touch with the dog’s foster family. You can then arrange a meet-and-greet. Everyone living in your home must meet the dog prior to the adoption being finalized – this includes all adults, children, and other pets.

The adoption process can take anywhere from a couple of weeks, upwards of a month. For dogs that have received a number of applications, it can take a little time for our adoption coordinators to sort through them all. Please remember that we are completely volunteer-run so all of this work is being done after the workday and on the weekends. We hope that you will be patient with us as we help you find the perfect match!

If the dog(s) you originally applied for is adopted by a family that applied or noted their interest prior to you, we would love to help you find another great pup. We transport approximately 25-30 dogs each week, so there’s no shortage of dogs looking for families!

To check out our available dogs, please visit our Facebook page where each adoptable dog has its own album or visit our Adoptable Dogs tab on our website to filter by age, breed, etc.

Our adoption fee barely covers the cost of a young healthy dog, let alone the cost of saving those who need more medical care or training.

Fees from the younger, more adoptable dogs help offset the cost of caring for the others. In any given year, our adoption fees only cover approximately 80% of our program costs. Additional expenses may include, medical treatments and procedures, training programs, and boarding costs.

*Please note: our fee is non-refundable. This is also noted in our Adoption Contract. Adoption fees as of October 1, 2018.